8 simple tips to follow to have the perfect garden this summer

Summer is days away, with heatwaves expected over the weekend and beyond, but what's the best way of keeping your lawn healthy through the heat?

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Lawn care experts Greensleeves has provided eight simple, but essential tips to follow to ensure grass is green and healthy throughout the coming months, making your garden the perfect place to host parties and BBQs.

Pre-Party:

Weeds

Take time out to remove any weeds and spray the grass with lawn-safe weedkiller.

Removing pesky weeds can instantly smarten a lawn up, plus taking out any unwanted plants will stop the grass having to compete for light, water and nutrients, making it look as healthy as possible during the party and putting it in better stead to grow back afterwards.

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Mow

Mow the lawn around three-five days before a party, then the day before for the ultimate finish.

The weekend before, give the grass a trim, so any grass clippings have the chance to settle so they won’t spoil any guest’s clothing. Then by cutting it the day before, it will all be an even length and look in great condition for the main event.

Easy Clean-Up

Set up bins around the garden to avoid any litter. Old food from the barbecue such as bones and oil can affect and damage the grass. Plus, any heavy or large items like plates and cups could crush and cover grass from the sun, which will decrease its chances of growing back quickly afterwards.

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Keep It Dry

Although rain is unavoidable, refrain from watering your lawn before the party as footfall could turn it into a mud bath. Keep the grass as dry as possible to prevent furniture from sinking into it, and to stop the garden from being destroyed.

Post-Party:

Aerate

Once you’ve had a party, remove any gazebos and garden furniture, take a garden fork and create a set of holes every few feet.

This will allow any areas that have been compacted through footprints or weight, to take in air, water and nutrients.

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Reseed

Depending on the condition of the lawn, pick a seed that most suits its state. If the grass has been completely killed, you will need to buy lawn feed or seeds to start from scratch.

If it’s discoloured, you will need to condition the lawn to bring back the rich, green, healthy appearance. Follow the instructions of the product and apply to the holes made with the fork.

Water

Keep it hydrated throughout the next few weeks. As we get further into the summer, the hotter temperatures will dry the grass out, which could keep the colour brown.

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Water new seed consistently, once or twice per day until new grass sprouts grow through, but if fertilizing wait a few hours until the garden is dry first.

If possible, avoid using the grass. Any new grass seedlings can be easily damaged, so it’s important to let them breathe until they are standing at a strong two-three inches tall.